We look forward to them in the same way that we embrace the smell of the turkey (check out recipe) coming out of the oven or watching the kids tear open their presents on Christmas morning.

Hanging the stockings is a sentimental moment, too. Make it extra special this year and encourage the family to spend an afternoon creating personalised Christmas stockings you can use for years to come.

You can either purchase stockings from one of our homewares stores and decorate them at home, or make stockings from scratch if you have a sewing machine. If you’re making them, you can keep things simple and choose a neutral felt, or be bold and select different patterns or colours for each member of the family.

Choose felt in different colours for some fun patterns and shapes, plus make sure you have a hot glue gun, pencils, paper, a felt marker, scissors and ribbons for hanging. Visit Riot Art & Craftto pick everything up, and you’ll be all set for a Christmas craft-ernoon.

inspiration

1. Start with the stockings

Taking a piece of felt big enough for a stocking, use a marker to outline and cut the shape (you can draw it on a piece of cardboard first, so you know you’re happy with the size and shape). Don’t forget one for your four-legged family member either, with their own stocking in the shape of their foot. Using the same pre-drawn shape, repeat until you have two sides for each stocking. If you’d prefer not to draw freehand, there are plenty of templates to choose from on Pinterest.

Next, pin both sides of each stocking together and sew them around the edges – about 5-10mm in from the edge – except for the top, where you would insert your foot if it were a sock. Turn the stockings inside out so that the stitching is on the inside, fold the tops over to make cuffs, and stitch the edges down. Then take your ribbon, fold it into a loop and stitch it to the top edge of each stocking so it’s ready for hanging.

2. Get creative with Christmas symbols

Now you’re ready to make some shapes! Use your own illustrations to make patterns – they don’t need to be complicated. Take another piece of felt in a different colour, and draw and cut out the outline of a star, candy cane or holly – anything that reflects your family’s Christmas. Encourage children to draw something that makes Christmas special for them, so each stocking has personal significance.

You might also like to use different layers of coloured felt in each symbol, to create a multilayered 3D effect – for instance, cutting out a Christmas tree from white felt, then a slightly smaller tree of the same shape from green felt. Find some handy Christmas tree templates here.

3. Add some characters

Once you’ve created some Christmas symbols for your stockings, give them some life with a Christmas character or two. Take another piece of felt and draw a reindeer (don’t forget the antlers!), or perhaps a big bearded Santa Claus. You can even cut out some long legs to dangle below the stockings, if you want something a little fun and cheeky like this. You can also add a little pocket to your stocking for your characters to poke out of, rather than sticking them on.

4. Make it personal

Cut out letters to represent each family member’s initials. Alternatively, you can use a needle and thread to embroider each name – or create their own individual embroidered animal or pattern. To make the process easy, draw the names on craft tissue paper as a template you can place on the stocking, pin to the felt, stitch through and remove when you’re done.

5. Put it all together

After your shapes, characters and letters are ready, take them one by one and use a hot glue gun to secure them to the cuff or the front of the stocking in a style of your choosing. You could also opt to do a simple blanket stitch for an extra handmade, crafty look.

Once everything is glued on, lie the stocking flat until it’s dry. When they’re ready, hang each stocking, and admire your crafty work. You’ll relish the thoughtful approach your family’s taken to getting into the Christmas spirit this year, and for many years to come when you get the decorations out.

6. Fill your stockings with gifts

No stocking is complete without a couple of fun surprises. For inspiration, head to our Gift Guide to get a range of gift-giving ideas.

Use of the information on this page is governed by Australian law and is subject to the QIC disclaimer and website access terms and conditions that are available at the disclaimer page. View the QIC privacy policy.